TEHRAN – Iranian and Chinese warships held a joint naval exercise on Sunday, IRNA reported.

An Iranian destroyer and two Chinese destroyers participated in the war game, which was held in the eastern portion of the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.

The Chinese flotilla included a support vessel and a helicopter as well. They had docked at Iran's Bandar Abbas on Thursday, after leaving the Pakistani port of Karachi.

Iran’s Navy assigned its Alborz Destroyer and a helicopter to the exercise.

Some 700 Iranian navy personnel and about 700 Chinese servicemen took part in the exercise.

China’s Ambassador to Tehran, Pang Sen, accompanied his country's sailors as they met Iranian officials.

Dozens of Iran-based Chinese nationals traveled to Bandar Abbas to welcome the servicemen, waving the national flags of the two countries.

Back in 2014, two Chinese warships docked at Bandar Abbas port to take part in a joint naval exercise in the Persian Gulf for the first time.

MH/PA